Lance Burton, the world’s most famous magician, will soon return to television as a judge on Criss Angel’s Magic With the Stars. The first season of the program will premiere on the CW on October 22, 2022, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Along with two other judges, Criss Angel and Loni Love, he will assess the celebrity contestants’ magic feats on the program. The show’s synopsis is as follows:
“The celebrity contestants are challenged with learning three main areas of magic, which they perform in front of a panel of three judges: Criss Angel (“Criss Angel MINDFREAK,” “AMYSTIKA,” “RAW”), Emmy(R) Award-winning comedian Loni Love (“E! News”), and master magician Lance Burton.”
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Lance Burton In Criss Angel’s Magic With the Stars As A judge
Lance Burton is a magician from Louisville, Kentucky, who was born and reared there. His contemporaries regarded him as the finest stage magician of the preceding century. Furthermore, before retiring in 2010, he had performed for over 5,000,000 people in over 15,000 Las Vegas events. When Burton was five years old, his mother brought him to a Christmas party with magician Harry Collins as a performance. While there, he volunteered for The Miser’s Dream, a magic act in which Collins plucked silver dollars from Burton’s ears. Burton was immediately captivated and hooked on the magic act. There has been no turning back since. Regarding Burton’s magical adventure, his official website states:
“When a neighbor heard about his fascination, she handed him a book called Magic Made Easy that her own (then-grown) children had used.” It had 10 techniques, all of which Burton rapidly mastered. His earliest performances were for local kids for a cent apiece.”
Collins became Burton’s mentor while he was in his teens. Burton learned “the foundations and skills of executing sleight-of-hand, as well as the right manner to manipulate playing cards” under the latter’s guidance and mentorship. Burton spent a significant amount of his studies honing the art of deception. Furthermore, due to his incredible knowledge in this craft, he has been dubbed “A Magician’s Magician.”
Burton took first place as a young magician in his first competition as a junior magician at a conference in 1977. He was the first recipient of the International Brotherhood of Magicians’ prestigious Gold Medal for Excellence in 1980. On July 10, 1982, he won the Grande Prix, establishing him as World Champion Magician. Moreover, the magician has received several awards and distinctions during his career. Lance Burton was given the privilege of having the “Mantle of Magic” transmitted to him by Master Magician Lee Grabel on May 12, 1994, making Lance a new member of The Royal Dynasty of Magic. Bill and Milt Larsen promptly booked him up for their yearly It’s Magic performance once he moved to Southern California.
According to the website, the magician
“had his debut national television appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on October 28, 1981.”
He was later featured on programs such as David Letterman, Jay Leno, The View, Craig Ferguson, The World’s Greatest Magic, Hollywood Squares, and even guest starred on Knight Rider and Las Vegas. Burton had his own NBC program, LANCE BURTON MASTER MAGICIAN; THE LEGEND BEGINS, in 1996. This was soon followed by a series of yearly television specials. Following that, the magician presented programs for Discovery, Animal Planet, The Family Channel, and The History Channel, among others. This Saturday, see Master Magician Lance Burton on Criss Angel’s Magic With the Stars on the CW.
